To stand by him
This Chapter is a bit short, so i apologize for that its a bit of a filler i just want some relationship between Anna and Chris before they become a couple, i hope you enjoy the Chapter :)
disclaimer: own nothing but Anna
"Where are we going?" I asked as I watched us leaving the view.
"Well I'm not sticking around the view, that rich air isn't good for you heard it makes your head grow huge." He said.
"ha ha very funny." I muttered.
Chris stopped after a lot of uneven ground that jostled me around in the seat, we were in a clearing it looked like. Chris jumped out from the truck and then came around to my side, he opened the door and reached over to pull me out but I hit his hands away.
"I can move." I grumbled and slid carefully out of the truck and onto my feet where I stumbled only a bit on the uneven ground then stood straight.
"Where are we?" I asked looking around, the area had no lights what so ever around and it made it look like we were standing in the pitch black. The lights to the truck had turned off so I could only see Chris who was only a foot in front of me.
"Some place I know we won't run into anyone." he said and then started to walk away.
"Uh chris?" I called.
"Yeah?"
"I can't see anything." he came back and I felt his warm hand take hold of my wrist.
"I guess my eyes adjust faster." he said more to himself and before I knew it my eyes had too and I could make out the dark shapes of the trees. Including the one we were standing under now I could see small lights in a couple of houses below. Chris released my wrist and I instantly felt cold.
"Come on." he said as he started to climb up the small ladder. . . well he didn't exactly climb it he stepped on the first step and could reach the latch from there. I followed slowly into the treehouse. It was dark in there but chris turned on a few lamps and lit some candles. I sat down on a pile of pillows that was up there and Chris turned to look at me his gold hair was glowing in the light and his deep blue eyes widened when he looked at me.
"Shit." he breathed suddenly started to rummage through stuff.
"What?" I asked worriedly.
"You're just worse off then I thought, couldn't see you well in the dark you know?" he asked as he picked up a box shook it then put it back down.
"I can barely walk and you think I'm okay?" I asked him.
"I thought you were fine." he said, he wasn't facing me but I knew he was smirking. As he started to get frustrated and flipping things over I finally asked.
"What are you looking for?"
"First aid kit." he answered I looked around the small room and saw a brown wooden box sitting behind me. I reached out and grabbed the rough edges of it.
"This it?" I asked holding it out to him, he turned around and looked at it and nodded. He came and sat in front of me and took the box from me. He placed it on his knees and opened it. Inside was band aids, strips of cloth, rubbing alcohol, cotton, a needle and thread, scissors, some kind of tube and of course some cigarettes. Chris took come cotton from the box and the alcohol and a cigarette, he lit the smoke and took a quick drag from it blowing the smoke away from me then placed it between his lips to hold it there puffing the smoke out carefully. He dipped the cotton into the bottle and went to put it on my face, but I moved back a little. He backed off and took the smoke from his lips and raised an eyebrow.
"You want it infected?" he asked slipping the cigarette back on his lips, I grunted and sat up again.
"You're not coming near my face with this pointed at me." I said taking the smoke from his mouth and flicking it out the window.
"You could have just held it." Chris sighed as he leaned closer to me again dabbing the cotton on my cuts. I hissed in pain as the rubbing alcohol hit my broken skin, it didn't sooth just continued to burn.
"Jesus Chambers did you just fill the bottle with beer?" I asked pushing his hand away no longer being able to stand it.
"Watered down whiskey actually." he shrugged putting the cotton to my lip next. I hissed again and pushed his hand away.
"Well it hurts like hell."
"Means its working, It cleans good and alcohol is easier to get so stop complaining.' he laughed pressing the cotton once more to me lip. I sucked it up and let him removed the dried blood and clean the cuts on my face.
"Alright I need to see your arms."
"My arms are fine."
"Take the damn jacket off Anna." he demanded getting annoyed with my stubborn attitude. I shrugged off my jacket and Chris helped me get my arms out and he tossed it to the other side of the room. My arms were covered in small scratches and my skin tinted red with blood, I had some bruises forming already as well, though they weren't fist shaped they were longer so I knew they weren't from Ace.
"Yeah just fine." Chris sang as he dipped some more cotton into the bottle and started working on my arms.
"I can do it myself." I started but Chris rolled his eyes making me realize I should shut up.
"You could but you won't." he said and then kept with his work.
"Why is all this stuff up here?"
"We get hurt a lot, and its better to have it here since we're usually around here plus wouldn't want to hang at home to patch yourself up when you get hurt there."
I didn't answer I didn't know how, so I just kept quiet. "Damn Ace got you good."
"I should have fought back harder." I sighed as Chris moved to my next arm.
"You wouldn't have been able to fight them anyways, we've all had to deal with them it's almost impossible to stop them."
"Is that how Teddy broke his glasses?"
"Huh?" Chris asked looking at me quickly.
"His glasses, did he get in a fight with ace?" Chris started laughing.
"No no, the idiot tried to jump onto a moving truck by jumping off another moving truck but missed by like two feet and hit the ground."
"he what?" I asked trying to hide my own laugh.
"yeah."
"And all he did was break his glasses?'
"Nah Teddy got a bloody nose but that's about it."
"What made him want to-OW!" I screamed.
"Sorry." Chris said then holding up a small piece of glass. "Thought you wouldn't notice if you were talking."
"I noticed."I glared as he shrugged.
"Lift your shirt." he said.
"What?" he suddenly realized what he had just told me to do and turned red rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh, sorry guess I'm just used to guys and all, I want to see your ribs."
"Oh." I said awkwardly.
"You don't have to. . .' he started but I shook my head and then lifted my shirt up to under my breasts and he sheepishly looked at my stomach."
"Well they don't look too bad just bruised. Turn 'round" he said and I twisted my back. "Fuck what happened to your back?'
"You were there."
"They did that?"he asked unbelieving.
"I can't exactly see what that is." I reminded him. But I could guess it was probably black and blue. Chris quickly wrapped my back up with strips of cloth his fingers brushing the skin on my stomach and back sending shivers through my body.
"Well your jacket protected you pretty well." he said as he started to put the contents away.
"You know you're not in the best shape either." I noticed the four inch gash down his forearm. He looked down at it and shrugged.
"Well they weren't going to just let you go, I'm fine though." he moved and put the box down on a small table
"You said they were almost impossible to fight off, how did you?" I asked, he smiled slightly.
"I didn't just outsmarted them, one of the guys there, he's my brother-"
"Eyeball."
"Yeah, well I've been dealing with them for years, you pick up some stuff." he sat down on a wooden crate across from me and leaned on his knees.
"Well thanks Chris. . . I don't want to think of what would have happened if I ended up on the other side of the fence." Chris cringed at the thought.
"Yeah those dogs sure as hell ain't no Chopper thats for sure, they'd rip you in two in a second."
"To tell you the trust I thought they were when I landed."
"I'm glad they didn't though" Chris said.
"Thanks for saving me." Chris smiled at my thanks.
"Eh, no problem."
"Seriously if he was carrying a knife then I would probably be dead if those dogs didn't get me first."
"Well when you put it that way I sound like some kind of hero." he smirked. I rolled my eyes.
"Damn Chris I was building up yourself esteem when I should have been humbling you." I joked.
"Hey a hero has no need to be humble." he smiled a brilliant smile.
"You calling your own brother a villain?'
"He's worse then that, but if hes the Villain you must be the damsel in distress." I raised an eye brow at that comment. Which means, I'm the handsome hero that saved ya, and when the hero saves the girl," Chris got up and took a seat next to me sliding an arm over my shoulders. "She usually thanks him with a kiss." he whispered in my ear, his warm breath chilling my body as his soft lips brushed my ear when he spoke.
"Get your arm off me before I break it Chambers." I threatened glaring at him. He chuckled instead of doing what I asked just held me tighter.
"Is that anyway to be talking to your superman?"
"Superman? You sure you're alright, not suffering from brain damage are you?"
"You saying that wanting to kiss you is delusional?" he challenge back.
"I didn't say that! But its pretty disillusion for you to think I would actually kiss you."
"What if it was the other way around?"
"Huh?" I asked sliding away from him slightly.
"What if I kissed you? Would you let me? Would that be delusional" he asked his smirk growing bigger as I stuttered.
"Get off me." I scoffed pushing him away he laughed.
"Hey I'm just messing with ya, not that I wouldn't mind kissing you, but I think I'd wait until that lip heals."
"Then I pray to the lord it never does."
"Ouch that hurts." he playfully grabbed his heart.
"You'll get over it I'm sure lots of girls are after you."
"What makes you think that?"he asked genuinely curious.
"Don't let it go to your head Chris but you're not exactly the face for radio."
"So you think I'm good looking." he smiled broadly.
"Again don't let it go to your head."
"You're pretty good looking too Anna, why do you think I have you here instead of out at another party?"
"Cause I probably look like I got beaten up?" I asked sarcastically.
"Even beaten up guys would still look at ya, I got to get my dibs before someone else does.' I smacked him on the arm but kept a smile on my face.
"No one can call dibs on a girl Chris."
"I can try." he smiled then removed his arm. "So tell me about yourself." he said lighting up another cigarette.
"whats to tell, I'm a family embarrassment, a hoodlum, a blemish on the rich Winston family name. The smartass gambler that's gonna get herself killed one day, heck almost got killed tonight cause I don't know when to quit." I shrugged.
"I meant something I don't know." he chuckled.
"I don't know, what do you want to hear?"
"Well I can start, I'm considered a thief around here everyone thinks I'm gonna turn out to be a lost cause like my dad and brother, my dad whips my hide almost everyday and I don't think I'm ever getting out of this town." Chris has said it so casually I thought I had imagined everything he said.
"Your dad beats you?' I asked in a whisper. Chris just nodded, his head low. "I'm so sorry."
"No I'm sorry I shouldn't have said it, you don't want to hear that."
"No I'm kind of glad you told me. . .my dad he, he does the same thing." I admitted to him, to the first person since Will.
Chris' head snapped up.
"Your old man beats you?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"Multiple things, he's a drunken night man then when when he's sober he's really controlling, glad he's rarely home now, except at night, its the only time I can escape him." Chris listened carefully.
"Mine is just a drunk beats me if I'm breathing." he said throwing the butt of the Winston out the window.
"Sounds like we both live in the same shit then."
"Only your shit is coated in gold." I laughed.
"don't see a penny of anything, why do you think I need to gamble? He doesn't think I need money cause I'm supposed to stay at home all the time."
"What do you think he'd do if he knew you were here with me?'
"Shot you, beat me, then shoot you again. Then maybe choke you just to make sure you were dead." I said.
"damn. I always thought you rich kids had it made."
"And I always thought you guys had the easier life, you don't have to hold up a reputation, you can even pick your own friends."
"Its not right for him to beat you." Chris whispered looking down at the ground.
"And its normal for yours to hit you? Chris you sound mighty sorry for me but what about yourself? Besides your friends who else do you have to look after you? I can guess your brother is out of that." Chris sighed and then looked up at me.
"Yeah he's an asshole, but what he does to me doesn't matter it's what he does to other people." Chris reached out his hand and ran his finger down the gash on my eye his touch so gentle I almost didn't feel it. My eyes closed at his gentle touch when he travelled to the cut on my lip he stopped. I opened my eyes to see him shaking his head.
"I just can't believe they did that to you."
"Chris, It's fine-" Chris shot up from beside me and paced across the room.
"NO! It's not fine, I barely know you and I am sick by how they treated you. I met you a day ago and I already want to rip them to pieces by the disgusting display I saw happening to you, they were going to kill you Anna! Sure you would have been a nameless person that they would suspect only got attacked by dogs, you wouldn't be remembered but I still feel this horrible ache in my head, stomach and chest thinking about it, and do you know why? Because what they did was not fine. It was abusive it was degrading, it was disgraceful and brutal, so don't sit there and tell me its okay cause its not! I wouldn't be caring so much is what they did was fine Anna."
"I think you would, Chris I can see right through you, You're not this bad kid you want everyone to think you are."
"Why would you ever think I would want to be seen like that?'
"Cause you don't deny it Chris, you don't try to change peoples opinions of you."
"Cause I can't!"
"No cause you don't try, you walk around taking shit from people. I saw the friends you have tonight Chris, I don't think you'd have a kid as quiet and polite as Gordie , or a boy as big and awkward as Vern, or even a kid as annoying as Teddy as your friend if you were who you want people think you are. You're right you shouldn't feel this compassion for me, no one would but you do. And the reason you're freaking out is because you're not a bad kid."
"Stop trying to change the subject!" he snapped.
"I think you were the one that was trying to!" I replied, shifting in my seat slightly.
"We got to talking about you, and you changed it to be about my pain and what I went through, you turned anger onto me and your brother, you were trying to get me to be scared weren't you?"
"No-"
"Yeah you were. You want me to be terrified of Ace and them, you want me to be scared by what happened so I won't want to talk about you anymore." Chris stared at me his gaze never wavering for a second.
"If you were that kind of kid then you would have joined them but you didn't. The second we start talking about you, you change the attention onto someone else, are you scared to open up? Are you ashamed to admit that you need someone to help you? I told you I can read you, and I can. You're someone that feels compelled to help no matter what, I bet you even tried to convince your friends you're no good." He hung his head at my words and began to shuffle his feet allowing some dust to fly into the air. "If I'm right then why did you try to convince me in the truck that you weren't like them? I think this has nothing to do with me at all, you're so angry with them because you're terrified of being like him. I think you took me here because you want someone that doesn't know you, to really get to know you. Chris I can't do that if you don't want to be serious with me and talk about yourself." Chris didn't say anything for several minutes.
He ran his hand through his hair and looked around, his eyes not staying on a single object for more then two seconds.
Then all of a sudden he fell to the ground, his head in his hands.
"Chris you okay?" I asked shocked.
"Fine." he muttered into his hands. "You're right, I did want to meet you because I wanted someone to see the real me, you're the first new kid in years and I was hoping that you could be the change I needed, I'm sorry too. I'm not used to being open about my life cause I never really had to be I don't want to talk about it. . . . I'm just scared that if I tell you then I'm going to fuck it up some way and scare you off."
"So you yelled at me. . . to stop yourself from scaring me off?" I asked, he was silent for a second before he started laughing.
"Yeah I guess I did. I just. . . I don't know, I like you, You're different you knew about me but you didn't judge me I thought you'd be cool to hang with, I still think that."
"And now that you know we both live a shit life you can trust me too?" I asked, he sneaked a look at me and then nodded his head, rubbing his hands on his pants even though I knew there was nothing on them.
"yeah."
"Chris I can promise you, you're not gonna scare me off, the worst you could do would make me flinch." Chris' eyes seemed to light up with the same brightness that shown when I first met him yesterday.
"Or break your heart." his grin had returned too, which just made me role my eyes.
"You'd have to win my heart first Chambers."
"I'm up for a challenge.'
"You're a bipolar little bastard you know that? First you're dangerous, then compassionate, then serious, then flirty, angry, terrified, sad then back to flirty, surprised your friends aren't blind from the whip lash they must get trying to keep up with your constant mood swings."
"What part do you like best?' he asked. I rolled my eyes.
"Right now non of them."
"You'll learn to love them all."
"Or just hate them even more." Chris chuckled and stood up.
"Well I think we've had enough drama for the night don't you? I promise to spill my guts some more another time but right now I think I need to get you home." he held out his hand to me and I took it, it was warmer then before and seemed to make my hand disappear as it closed around mine, he pulled me up with ease, keeping a hand on my waist to hold me steady.
"Thanks Chris." he smiled down at me.
"Anytime."
the ride back to my house was pretty silent, except for a few apologizes from Chris for his outbursts and his attempt to ask me out.
"In your dreams Chambers after tonight?'
"Eh come on, you said yourself you think I'm a good guy." he winked.
"Sure you're a good guy but you're also full of bullshit."
"Nope filled with BullTruth."
"Bull truth? Wow that's weak."
"Well, come on give me a real reason you won't go out with me.'
"I'm not aloud to date." Chris looked at me with a face that revealed confusion and amusment.
"You're a sixteen year old girl and a pretty good con man, you can come up with a better lie then that."
"No my dad won't let me."
"You mean the same way he doesn't let you out of the house? Come on Anna."
"Chris I don't want to go out with you, because I just met you, and already I've snuck out been used like a puppet on the dance floor, been beaten and spilled out my darkest secret."
"But it's a night you'll never forget." he smiled broadly, keeping his eyes on the road.
"Can you be serious for like one second?"
"I am, come on I promise It'll be entertaining."
"No, I've had enough entertainment for a while."
"Will you at least meet me tomorrow?"
"Don't you have school?" School's almost out, they're not going to miss me anyways, besides I kind of want to have a normal and calm conversation with you. Meet me at the park."
"Chris I am not going out with you!" I exclaimed throwing my hands up, however not very high because they still hurt like hell.
"It's not a date, I just want to talk I promise, I'll only try to kiss you three times."
"You're such a -"
"Oh look we're here." he said cutting me off. I glared at him as he stopped outside my house. I opened the door quickly and started to walk up my driveway. The house was dark and most of the cars were gone now thankfully. Half way up the drive I felt a shiver, and looked at my exposed arms. I turned and ran back to Chris's truck.
"Chris!" I yelled out, I opened to door and stood there as Chris stopped lighting his Cigarette.
"yeah?"
"I left my jacket at the treehouse." I said, immediately his lips stretched into a smile and he leaned his hands over the steering wheel.
"Did you now?"
"I need it back."
"Of course you do, meet me at Corbetts park Tomorrow and I'll give it to you." god damn it, I was so close to getting out of going anywhere with him. Not that I didn't like Chris, I did, he was handsome. . . okay he was beautiful, and funny and easy to talk to but the kid annoyed the hell out of me. I stared at him while he just continued to smile.
"No."
"You want your jacket or not?" he asked his smiled widening as I glared.
"Fine, meet me at one." I slammed his door purposely and stalked off towards my house again when I heard his door open and close again then his footsteps mirrored mine.
"What?" I demanded turning around to face him. He held out something to me and I took it.
"Put it on your cut and don't be pissing and whining about it okay?" he asked cocking his head to the side. He hand handed me a small tube, of what looked to be tooth paste but I bet it was filled with something else. I nodded and slipped it into my jeans pocket.
"See you Tomorrow Anna." he leaned in and quickly pecked my cheek, before turning away and went to his truck.
Chris must have gotten in and drove away because by the time I realized I was just standing there his truck was gone. Another gust of wind came, but I didn't feel it, just knew it came because my hair flew from my face.
All I could feel was a small pleasurable burning on my cheek, oddly where Chris had kissed me.
:O they're going on a date! Kinda. I'll update soon and get my writing more organized. have a nice day